Eiler Lauritz Theodor Lehn Schiøler (30 October 1874 – 13 August 1929) was a Danish ornithologist and banker who came from a family of stockbrokers. He was the author of a major but incomplete multi-volume illustrated work on the birds of Denmark, ''Danmarks Fugle,'' published from 1925 to 1931. Schiøler was a co-founder, along with
Hans Christian Cornelius Mortensen, of the
Dansk Ornitologisk Forening
(DOF), also known as the Danish Ornithological Society or BirdLife Denmark, is a Denmark, Danish Non-governmental organization, non-governmental Nonprofit organization, non-profit organisation. Founded on 15 October 1906 by Eiler Lehn Schiøler a ...
(DOF, the Danish Ornithologists Association) and served as its first chair at the age of 32 upon foundation in 15 October 1906.
Life

Schiøler was born in
Frederiksberg
Frederiksberg () is a part of the Capital Region of Denmark. It is an independent municipality, Frederiksberg Municipality, separate from Copenhagen Municipality, but both are a part of the region of Copenhagen. It occupies an area of less tha ...
where he became interested in birds as a schoolboy in
Herlufsholm under the influence of his teacher
Margar Traustedt. He then went to the Metropolitan School and during this period, inspired by the zoological work of
Herluf Winge, began to collect eggs and bird skins. His collections became so large, with 21,000 skins, 2,000 mounted specimens and 10,000 skeletons, that he needed a house next to his villa in Uraniavej in Copenhagen. He studied at the
Brockske Business School and also went to train in banking in the United States. In 1906, following the death of his father, he became a partner in his father's company, the Landmandsbanken. In the same year, he was involved in founding the Dansk Ornitologisk Forening. In 1922 his company collapsed and went into liquidation and nearly all his wealth was wiped out. Schiøler had hoped to use his lost wealth in ornithology, but in any case he decided to continue his research and was supported by the
Carlsberg foundation
Carlsberg Foundation () is a not-for-profit organization that was founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1876, by allocating some of his shares in the Carlsberg Brewery to fund and operate the Carlsberg Laboratory and the Museum of National History at ...
. In 1925 he organized an expedition to Greenland along with the artist
Johannes Larsen
Johannes Larsen (27 December 1867 – 20 December 1961) was a Danish nature painter.
Biography
Larsen was born in Kerteminde on Funen, Denmark. He was the son of Jeppe Andreas L. and Vilhelmine Christine Bless. His father was a merchant.
Lar ...
and ornithologist
Finn Salomonsen. He was one of the founding members of the Danish Ornithological Association, serving as its first chairman. After 1922 he started working on a major work on the birds of Denmark, ''Danmarks Fugle'', but was able to publish only three. Schiøler was also a member of the Danish hunting organization (Dansk Jagtforening) but noted that they destroyed birds of prey and worked for changes in the hunting laws of 1922 in order to protect birds of prey.
He helped organize the
International Ornithological Congress
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
held in Copenhagen in 1926. He took participants of the congress to his private collections at his home in Uraniavej. He showed symptoms of fatigue during the congress but in September he suffered a brain hemorrhage which paralyzed him and prevented him from speaking. All work came to an end, he was confined to bed and died in sleep three years later.
Schiøler married Ellen Dorothea, adopted daughter of surgeon Peter Plum and after her death in 1921 he married Helga Jürgensen in 1924. He had six daughters and a son from his first marriage. His bird collection is now in the Danish natural history museum.
Publications
Schiøler's ''magnum opus'' was his multivolume ''Danmarks Fugle'' which was projected for eight to ten volumes. They were expensive, costing 225 kronors a volume. He managed to complete only three before he was paralyzed in 1926. The third volume was published in 1931 after his death in 1929. The painting plates of birds were made by
Johannes Larsen
Johannes Larsen (27 December 1867 – 20 December 1961) was a Danish nature painter.
Biography
Larsen was born in Kerteminde on Funen, Denmark. He was the son of Jeppe Andreas L. and Vilhelmine Christine Bless. His father was a merchant.
Lar ...
,
Gerhard Heilmann, and Henning Scheel and the work has been considered a landmark in bird art.
File:Danmarks Fugle Band1.jp
Band 1
File:Danmarks Fugle Band2.jp
Band 2
File:Danmarks Fugle Bind 3.jp
Band 3
Apart from his book, Schiøler published several scientific notes, the majority in the journal of the DOF, including:
* 1905. Om den grønlandske Stokand, ''Anas boscas spilogaster''. Vid. Medd. fra den naturli. Foren., København, pag. 127—148. 3 Tvl. Tilføjelse. Ibid., pag. 239—40.
* 1906. Hvinand, ''Clangula glaucion americana'' Bp., ny for Grønland. Dansk ornith. Foren. Tidskr. 1, pag. 37—38.
* 1907. Om den ydre Forskel mellem Kønnene hos Pomerautsfuglen, ''
Eudromias morinellus''. Ibid. I, pag. 49—58. 1 Tvl.
* 1907. Dressers Ederfugl, ''Somateria mollissima'' Dresseri Sharpe, ny for Grønland. Ibid. I, pag. 164—167.
* 1907. Vandrixen, ''Rallus aquaticus'' L., ny for Grônland. Ibid. II, pag. 45—46.
* 1908—14. Lidt om Ederfuglen, ''Somateria mollisma'' L., og nogle af dens Racer. Ibid. II, pag
109—149 5 Tvl. VIII, pag
233—276
* 1911. ''Podicipes griseigena major'' Temm. & Schl. og ''Tringa maculata'' Vieill. skudte paa Island. Ibid. V, pag. 147—151.
* 1912. Om nogle for Gronlands Fuglefauna sjældne samt to nye Arter, ''
Chaulelasmus streperus'' (L.) og ''
Passerella iliaca'' (Merrem) typica. Ibid. VI, pag. 65—80.
* 1914. Om Forskellen mellem den danske Duehog og den typiske ''
Astur palumbarius'' L. Ibid. VIII, pag. 93—112. 1 Tvl.
* 1915. Lidt om Præstekraven, ''
Aegialitis hiaticula'' L., og dens Racer. Ibid. IX, pag. 161—181.
* 1918. Om Graasiskenens nordostlige Race, ''Cannabina linaria exilipes'' og Svane-gaasen, ''Anser cygnoides''. Ibid. XII, pag. VI.
* 1919. Om den islandske Rodben (''Totanus calidris robustus''). Ibid. XIII, pag. 207—211.
* 1921. Sushkins Gaas, ''
Anser neglectus
Sushkin's goose (''Anser neglectus'') was a putative species of goose now thought to be extinct. The status as a species has been contested and a 2022 DNA study based on five specimens found no evidence of genetic isolation. It has sometimes been ...
'' Sush. truffen i Danmark. Ibid. XV, pag. 37—46
scan* 1921. Bartrams Klire, ''
Bartramia longicauda'' (Bechst.) ny for Danmark. Ibid. XV, pag. 46—47.
* 1921. A short description of the sequence of plumages in some palæarctic surface-feeding ducks. British Birds XV, pag. 130—138.
* 1922. Nogle Tilføjelser og Bemærkninger til Listen over Danmarks Fugle. Dansk ornith. Foren. Tïdsskr. XVI. pag. 1—55.
* 1924. Om de skandinaviske Ænder, deres Dragtskifte og Træk. Ibid. XVIII, pag. 85 - 95.
* 1925. Om de i Grønland forekommende Racer af Fjældrypen. ''
Lagopus mutus mutus'' (Montin). Ibid. XIX, pag. 108—115.
* 1925. Om den vestgrônlandske Skallesluger, ''Mergus serrator major'', subsp. nov. Ibid. XIX, pag. 115 -118.
* 1926. Om den islandske Kobbersneppe, ''Limosa limosa islandica'' Br. Dansk ornith. Foren. Tidskr. XX, pag. 11—12.
* 1926. Middelhavs-Skraape, ''Puffinus puffinus mauretanicus'' Lowe. ny for Danmark. Ibid. XX, pag. 13.
* 1926. Om den norske Sildemaage. Norsk ornithologisk Tidsskrift, Ser. 2, Nr. 5—7, pag. 53—55; Stavanger.
References
External links
Photos in Danish archivesDanmarks Fugle. Band 1Band 2Band 3
Photograph of grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schiøler, Eiler Lehn
Danish ornithologists
1874 births
1929 deaths
Businesspeople from Copenhagen
Lehn family